Introduction
Temperature over 39'C is high fever, usually seen in acute infection, acute infectious disease and heat-stroke, often accompanied by coma and spasm. According to TCM, high fever is caused by exogenous wind-heat that leads to dysfunction of the lung in depuration and pulmonary qi to disperse; or by combat between pathogenic factors and healthy qi due to inner invasion of febrile pathogenic factors unrelieved in the exterior into qi phase, blood phase and the pericardium.

Syndrome differentiation
1. Wind-heat attacking the lung
The symptoms are cough, slight aversion to wind and cold, sweating, headache, sore throat, dry mouth and thirst, or vomiting of yellowish sticky fluid, thin tongue fur, floating and rapid pulse.

2. Severe heat in qi phase
The symptoms are high fever, no aversion to cold, aversion to heat, flushed cheeks and red eyes, thirst and desire for cold drinks, cough and chest pain, or constipation, unpressable abdominal flatulence,  yellowish dry tongue fur, rapid and full pulse.

3. Invasion of heat into blood phase
The symptoms are high fever worsened in the night, restlessness, even delirium, thirst without desire for drinks, or maculae, or hemorrhage, hematemesis, hematochezia, deep red and dry tongue, thin and rapid pulse.

4. Invasion of summer-heat into the heart
The symptoms are high fever, dysphoria, thirst and profuse drinking, dry mouth and lips, burning sensation in the muscles, occasional delirium, even coma and spasm, deep red and dry tongue as well as full and rapid pulse.

Treatment
Prescription: Dazhui (GV 14) and Quchi (LI 11 ).

Modification: For invasion of wind-heat into the lung, Chize (LU 5), Yuji (LU 10) and Waiguan (TE 15) are added; for severe heat in qi phase, Hegu (LI 4), Neiting (ST 44) and Guanchong (TE 1) are added; for invasion of heat into blood phase, Quze (PC 3), Laogong (PC 8) and Weizhong (BL 40) are added; for invasion of summer-heat into the heart, twelve Jing-well acupoints are added.

Performance: The acupoints are needled with filiform needles and reducing needling techniques. Moxibustion is not used. Dazhui (GV 14) is needled with the rotation of the needle for reducing purpose; Guanchong (TE 1 ) and the twelve Jing-well acupoints are pricked by the three-edged needle for bloodletting; for severe high fever, Quze (PC 3) and Weizhong (BL 50  are pricked by the three-edged needle for bloodletting.